


Help Me

by Kiki242



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-03-16 08:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3481949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiki242/pseuds/Kiki242
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a theory from Tumblr and Roy's heroin addiction story line from the comics. Basically, Roy becomes a alcoholic and Laurel helps him with it. Also this is A story where they will eventually be romantically involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Roy?" Roy Harper frowned as he looked down into his shot glass, stiffening as he heard his name. He was in no mood to talk to anyone at the moment. Ever since the news about Oliver, social interactions seemed rather bleak. He practically had to force himself to interact with what was left of the team and Thea.

"What?" he replied gruffly.

"Roy, are you okay?" the owner of the voice sat down beside him at the bar inside the Verdant. Roy turned his head slightly and looked into the worried face of Dinah Laurel Lance. He turned back to his shot glass and downed the whiskey.

'I'm fine, Laurel", he replied in the same gruff voice. He was trying to make this short. He did not want to talk to Laurel at all. He did not want her to give him false hope about the chance of Oliver being alive. Her belief in him was contagious in a way. But the proof was in the pudding. Oliver went up against the leader of the League of Assassins and the evidence of that battle was a sword covered in his blood. Laurel was in denial.

'Are you sure?' Laurel inquired. The setting she found him in _again_ looked oddly and frighteningly similar. This was the third time that she had found him like this. Sitting at the bar with alcohol as his own companion. It brought back god awful memories. Memories that never failed to fill her with a sense of shame. She didn't want Roy to go down that same, self-destructive path.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Worse thing about me right now is that I'm moving pass the tipsy stage into being drunk', he grabbed the bottle of whiskey sitting on the bar next to his shot glass and took a swig, " outside of my mentor being dead of course', he stated with a pained smile. Laurel was going to state that Oliver was simply missing but opted against it. With the bottle in hand, he got up from the bar and began to head to the exit of the club. He swayed slightly as he walked. He was more intoxicated than he thought. Laurel seeing this, swiftly got up and moved to steady him but he brushed her off, continuing on his way to leave. Laurel followed him.

"Let me take you home, Roy. You're drunk,' she said worriedly. It was dangerous for him to be traveling about in his current state. She also needed to get that bottle out of his hand. He had enough to drink from what she could see. With that thought, she moved in front of him stopping in his tracks. While out her hand, she said "give me the bottle, Roy", softly. Her green eyes shining with concern. Roy moved the bottle away from her outstretched hand with a frown on his face.

"No," his voice slightly whining, "but you can take me home," a cheeky grin spread across his face. Laurel sighed. She reluctantly agreed and led him out of the club and towards her car. On the walk to her car, Roy struggled slightly, swaying as he went which caused him to lose the grip on the bottle. It fell and crashed onto the pavement, he cursed under his breath. Laurel decided to lend him a hand and let him lean on her slightly as they continued towards her car. Once they reached it, Laurel assisted in getting into the passenger seat. After getting him settled, she made her way over to the driver's side and got into the car. That was when it hit him. "Wait Laurel, we have to lock up the club", Roy reached into his pockets and pulled out the keys, dangling them before Laurel.

"Which one is it?" she asked. Roy indicated the correct key before handing the set over to her. She took the keys from his hand and told him to stay in the car while she went to lock up the Verdant. With one last glance back at the younger man, she exited the car and made her way back to the club. She quickly locked up the club and made her way back. She got in and began the drive to Roy's house.

As she was driving, she glanced over to Roy who was simply starring out of the window with a frown on his face. "Roy", she began "are you sure you're okay?" Roy opted to ignore her question and asked her one of his own.

"Why were you at the Verdant, Laurel?" he turned his attention away from the window and towards her, looking at her with slightly unfocused eyes.

"I have a file that has some valuable information dealing with Brick. I will explain it more to you when you're sober," she answered. Roy didn't argue with that. He was too far gone to focus on a conversation of such important information. A few minutes later they arrived to their destination. Laurel turned to look over at her passenger. "Do you need help getting inside?"

"Pft, no," Roy scoffed. He then tried to get out of the car but was unable to because of his seat belt. He sat back into the seat and laughed slightly. Laurel sighed and reached over to undo his seat belt for him. She then got out of the car to assist him once again. She helped him out of the car and up to the entrance of his house. Roy, now standing on his own, retrieved to house keys from his pocket, fumbled with them and dropped them. Laurel picked them up and he pointed out the correct key to the door. Laurel then opened the door and helped Roy inside the house. She led him to the couch in the living room and placed him comfortably on it sitting up. Roy relaxed and laid back against the couch.

"Is there anything you need before I go? Want me to make you some coffee?" Laurel asked starring down at him from her standing position. Roy sighed and looked up at her with unfocused eyes.

'No, I'm just gonna got to bed and sleep this off. Thanks for the ride, Laurel", he answered. He then stood up and made his way to his bedroom. Once inside, he closed the door behind him, he stripped down to his boxers and, then climbed into bed without getting underneath the covers. Outside in the living room, Laurel made her way to the kitchen. She rummaged through the medicine cabinet and until she found the aspirin. With the aspirin in hand she made her way to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. She then moved towards Roy's bedroom and knocked softly on the door.

"Roy? I got you some aspirin", she called out. She did not get a response. After contemplating it, she slowly opened the door. She entered the room to find Roy half naked, lying face down on the bed, and snoring softly. She stopped short in surprise and couldn't help but let her eyes roam over his form. She took in his muscular back and his toned legs. Roy was a fine specimen of a man. A wave of embarrassment hit Laurel at the thought, she also felt a bit silly for staring at Roy as she did. She quickly moved to the side table besides the bed ad sat the bottle of water and aspirin on it. She then made her way towards the bedroom door. After glance back, she exited the bedroom and house.


	2. Chapter 2

The next night Diggle, Felicity, Roy, and Laurel were working in the Arrow cave. Laurel had just begun explaining to them that a gun recently used by Brick was a match to a gun from murder dating back by 21 years. "It was a match to the murder of Rebecca Merlyn, Malcolm Merlyn's wife," Laurel explained. The others didn't respond at first as they all stood in shock. "That's why I think we should go to Malcolm for help with this. If we tell him that it was Brick who killed her, then he'd be more than happy to help us bring him down. Now I'm not saying that we become best buddies with him, but we need all of the help that we can get", Laurel said. She had given this much thought. Brick practically had an army behind him and they were missing their most valuable member. She, Roy, and Diggle had been running themselves ragged for the past month to stop Brick's men (field wise. Felicity had been hard at work in the cave.) It was tiring and non-stop to the point she found herself falling asleep at her desk at work. There was also a rising problem in Roy not showing up for their nightly activities.

Ollie was also off the grid for the time being. It didn't look like he would be back in time to stop Brick before he leveled the Glades. Felicity looked directly at Laurel, her eyes hardened. "No," She said simply, her voice strong and leaving no room for argument. Laurel looked at her in surprise. She didn't like the situation herself but they needed to do something, anything to stop Daniel Brickwell.

"Malcolm is an evil bastard but we need his help, Felicity. Brick is going to level the Glades if we don't do something", Laurel argued. Roy looked between the two women. He could understand each side but Laurel was missing some important information that would most certainly change her mind. A wave of guilt hit Roy at that thought. It didn't feel right that they weren't telling her all what Malcolm did. She still didn't know that Malcolm was responsible for Sara's death and that he dragged Thea into it and in which led to Oliver going up against Ra's Al Ghul.

"Laurel, a man like that cannot be trusted," this time it was Diggle who interjected.

"Exactly, and Oliver would never want to work with that man", the blonde woman stated.

"Guys, I don't like it either, but we need to do something to put a stop to Brick. Malcolm is the best warrior that we know. Even better than Oliver. I agree with Laurel", Roy interjected. Laurel looked at Roy in surprise while Felicity glared slightly at him.

"This isn't what Oliver would want!" Felicity stated her voice becoming stronger. She was adamantly against working with the man responsible for the deaths of Sara and Oliver. The very thought of Malcolm brought an uncontrollable anger to her.

"Well Oliver isn't here, Felicity so we should try to think for ourselves", Roy replied with his voice rising to meet Felicity's.

"Does that include taking nights off when the city needs us the most?!" Felicity practically yelled, addressing the elephant in the room. She stepped closer to him as she did so.

"Hey!" Diggle boomed, stepping in between them. "Let's keep our wits about us and focus on the task at hand" he added. They didn't have time for petty arguments. They could address Roy's absent problem later. Diggle then shifted the conversation back to the bigger issue "Alright, we will have Malcolm as an option but can we try to think of something else? Let's evaluate all of our options before we decide to go to him" Felicity was about to object to even thinking about teaming up with Malcolm but Diggle shook his head at her before she could speak. Laurel thought for a moment, then the idea hit her.

"The city", she said speaking out loud. The others looked at in confusion. "We could use the people of the city to fight. Specifically the Glades. I think that they will be more than happy to fight for their home. Just as we are. I'll talk to Ted and get him round up some of his students to take a stand", Laurel continued, explaining herself. She then turned her attention to the red hooded archer. "Roy, you have the most knowledge out of all of us on the Glades. Can you try to round up people to fight?" Roy nodded his head. He liked the idea. Fighting alongside the people of the Glades was much better than fighting alongside the man who wanted to destroy it. "Do you guys have a problem with this? From what I can tell it's the citizens or Malcolm", Laurel said turning her attention to Diggle and Felicity.

"I like it. Hell of a lot better than working with Malcolm", it was Diggle who vocally answered and then Felicity nodded her head in agreement. Since as they all liked and agreed to the plan, they decided that tomorrow night that they would round up the people of the Glades to take a stand against Brick and his men. With everything planned, they began to file out of the cave. Felicity and Diggle the building first. Laurel was going to follow suit until she noticed that Roy had made his way towards the bar. The club was closed for the night and the bar was stacked with untouched alcohol. Laurel watched as Roy went around the bar and grabbed himself a shot glass and a bottle of vodka. He then made his way back around the bar and sat at one of the stools. Laurel debated whether or not she should approach him. Deciding that it was for the best, she heaved a sigh and walked over towards him. When she reached him, she tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from taking the first shot.

"What?" Roy asked with a frown on his face.

"I know I'm in no position to judge but this isn't the best time be getting drunk. We need to have our heads on and our heads clear and i hope that you pay for that bottle," Laurel stated, dancing around the actual issue at hand. Which was that Roy Harper was developing a dependency on alcohol to cope with everything going on. With Ollie's disappearance, his broken relationship with Thea, Malcolm, and the threat of Brick looming over their hands the poor guy was breaking.

"You're right, you are in no position to judge. I don't plan on driving after this and I don't plan on losing my job", was his snarky reply and it caused Laurel to wince. That was a bit of a low blow but Laurel expected as much. She said some mean things herself before sobriety.

"Roy", she sighed "things have gotten pretty rough recently but by dealing with it like this is only going to make things worse." with that, Laurel exited the club and left Roy to ponder on what she said. He knew what Laurel was hinting at and he adamantly that disagreed with her. He had a control of the situation and he wasn't going to ruin his like she nearly did hers. With that thought in mind, Roy drunk the night away.


	3. Chapter 3

Roy woke with a start as he felt ice cold water come into contact with his skin. He shot up in bed like a bolt and looked around the room with wild eyes. They fell on a miffed Laurel who was standing above him beside his bed. "What the hell are you doing, Laurel?!" Roy asked, clearly aggravated by his rude awakening. He immediately grabbed his throbbing head after voicing his displeasure.

"Waking your ass up", Laurel replied with her arms crossed across her chest and the agitation that was coursing through her showing on her face. "It's 3 p.m., Roy. We need to get ready for tonight", she finished. Just then, Roy bolted completely out of bed and made a beeline for the bathroom with Laurel following behind him at a slower pace. When he made it to the bathroom, he shut the door behind him and the preceded regurgitate into the toilet. Outside of the bathroom, Laurel leaned against the wall near the doorway and shook her head while letting out a sigh. She would have to help him nurse this hangover. With that thought in mind, she went into the kitchen to grab some aspirin and make a pot of coffee.

A few minutes later, Roy emerged from the bathroom looking miserable. He heard movement and ramblings going on in the kitchen and slowly made his way there. When he reached his destination, he was met with the picture of Laurel setting a cup of coffee, a glass of water, and a bottle of aspirin on the small table. Laurel looked up at him and noticed that he was in nothing but his boxers. Her eyes sub-consciously moved down his form and she immediately adverted them back to his face. Roy was too preoccupied with the pains of his hangover to notice. He made his way over to the table at the same snail pace and sat down before the items. He set his elbows on the table and put his face in his arms. He felt absolutely awful.

Laurel sat down across from him with a sigh and took in the picture before her. He looked absolutely awful. Roy looked at her through his fingers and met her gaze. "What?' he asked his voice gruff and muffled.

"You need to sober up. We need you tonight and you still need to round up people as well", she replied softly. Roy groaned at that and dragged his hands down his face and then reached for the aspirin and glass of water. He downed a pill and sighed.

"How'd you get in?" he asked.

"You left the front door open", she replied." I came over because you weren't answering any of our calls. Roy, we need you, the city needs you to be on your A game." Laurel stated looking intently into his eyes. Her intense stare caused Roy to look away. Laurel reached across the table and grabbed his hand causing him to meet her eyes again. "Please, please do not touch a drop of alcohol for the rest of the day, okay?" was Laurel's plea. Roy looked at her strangely before nodding his head. Laurel smiled at him and squeezed his hand before getting up and leaving the house.

* * *

Later that night after the huge battle with Brick, Roy decided to celebrate the win and the return of his mentor with a drink at the bar inside the club. Tonight however, the Verdant was packed with people celebrating the win themselves. After Roy guzzled a shot, Thea came and sat by him. She turned to him with a smile. "Ollie's back", she stated happily. Roy looked at her and nodded knowingly

"I know. The Arrow's back as well. Isn't it strange how they both disappeared around the same time and come back at the same time?" he stated smartly. Thea frowned at him for a moment before replying.

"I guess it is a bit strange but it's just a coincidence", Roy took another shot. With alcohol swirling through his head and effecting his decision making, he decided to tell her the truth.

"No its not, Thea", he replied. "Think about it, really think about it. All the other times The Arrow disappeared so did your brother. Ever since he's been back from the island you said yourself how distant he's been from you. All the times he has bailed out for this reason or another', Roy explained while staring intently at Thea. He then took another shot of vodka. Thea looked at him mouth agape. He couldn't possibly be implying what she thought he was.

"Roy you're not saying-"Thea was cut off by the arrival of Laurel who sat on the other side of Roy. She sent a smile Thea's way before turning her attention to Roy. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could get a word out, Roy turned to her and spoke up.

"I don't think it's good for an alcoholic to be parked at an open bar", he told her with a sneer. He did not feel like dealing with her right now. He knew that she was going to spout her usually, hypercritical crap about his drinking.

"Roy!" Thea cried at his words. She was taken aback by his spiteful words toward s laurel. From her knowledge, she hadn't done anything to deserve it. Laurel's jaw clenched in agitation at his words.

"If that's the case, then you shouldn't be sitting here either", she shot back. Thea looked at her in shock while Roy looked at her with anger.

"For the last time, I do not have a problem!' he practically yelled drawing the attention of others around them. Thea looked around and noticed unlike her two companions who were having a staring contest. She scolded at them to keep their voices down while looking between them in confusion. She was taken aback by Laurel's words. They also made her think of the bottles of liquor that had been disappearing from the bar. Surely that couldn't have been Roy.

"I said the same thing," Laurel told him, her eyes and voice now softer. Roy met her soft, green eyes with a hard glare before looking away. Thea swallowed before speaking.

"Roy, how much have you been drinking lately? I noticed that there were some bottles missing from the bar. Was that you?" Thea questioned quietly. If he did have a drinking problem, then she could understand. She had herself battled addiction. Roy didn't acknowledge her as his jaw clenched at her words.

"It was", it was Laurel who answered. Roy's head snapped towards her direction and he gave her a look of rage.

"Thanks a lot, bitch", he growled before hopping off the bar stool and storming out of the bar. Thea called out for him in anger. How dare he talk to Laurel like that! Roy either did not hear her call for him or decided to ignore her as he continued on his merry way out of the club. Laurel watched as Roy left in a heap of anger and sighed. His anger was something to be expected, however, it was going to be tiring to fight through. She was not going to handle his addiction like Ollie handled hers ( **AN:**  That is not how to deal with someone battling addiction/depression. Realistically, Laurel probably would have committed suicide. Seriously). Instead, she was going to be patient and understanding with him. Though she feared that like with most cases such as herself, he would have to hit rock bottom before seeing that he had a problem. If it did get to that she would be there to help him.

"Dinah!" Laurel's head snapped to Thea at the sound of her first name. She looked at Thea in surprise while Thea looked slightly agitated. "I've been calling for the past 30 seconds while you were stuck in la la land. Anyway, I was trying to ask you how did this happen? Roy's drinking I mean", Thea asked her. Laurel shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the question answering that would mean coming incredibly close to telling her about Ollie.

"I don't know. I just noticed that he's been taking residence here at the bar lately. I think it started when The Arrow disappeared", Laurel answered nervously. Noticing her body language, Thea looked at the lawyer strangely. Her answer also brought something to the forefront to Thea's mind.

"Speaking of which, before you arrived Roy was talking about how it wasn't a coincidence that Ollie and The Arrow disappeared around the same time and came back at the same time", Thea stated. Laurel looked at her in alarm which gave Thea the answer she needed. "Laurel, do you know something that I don't?" Thea asked while giving Laurel a look of suspicion. Laurel struggled to find words to diffuse the situation and ended up telling her to talk to Oliver before leaving in a haste.

* * *

The next afternoon, Roy woke up groggily with a killer headache greeting him. He sat up and then sat on the edge of the bed putting his face in his hands. These constant hangovers were becoming too much. He felt absolutely miserable but it went beyond the hangover. He felt like there was some big dark hole that had swallowed him up and there didn't seem to be any way out of it. Except at the bottom of a bottle. however, that only seemed to numb the pain temporarily. and for the rest of the time he felt like crap. Being drunk also turned him into a major dick.

Roy grimaced as a wave of shame hit him over his behavior last night. He had been absolutely awful towards Laurel. She didn't deserve his rude comments and he needed to apologize to her the next time he saw her. What was worse was that he nearly blurted the big secret to Thea. In fact he hinted at it enough for her to put the pieces together. The alter egos of Oliver Queen disappearing and reappearing at the same time was strange enough but having The Arrow's sidekick practically spell it out for her most certainly told her what was up. Roy sighed at his thoughts before getting up and heading to the bathroom. He sat in front of the toilet and waited for the nausea to come, it certainly would anytime soon. After a few moments, it hit. He heaved whatever contents that there was in his stomach into the toilet.

After three rounds of heaving his guts out and washing his mouth out, he made his way to the kitchen. As he walked at a snail's pace part of him wished that Laurel was there again to help him out. As soon as he made it to the kitchen, someone knocked loudly on the front door. Roy made a move for the door until he looked down and realized that he was only in his underwear. He ran to his bedroom as fast as his hangover would allow to grab a pair of pants. He grabbed the pair from last night that was on the floor and pulled them on nearly getting tangled up. The person knocked on the door even louder as he struggled to get his pants on. When he finally achieved the goal of getting the pants on, Roy rushed to let the person in. When he reached it, he took a deep breath and opened it. He came face to face with a very pissed off Oliver Queen.

"We need to talk", Oliver growled before pushing his way into Roy's house. Roy stood nervously by the door as Oliver walked further into the house taking in the state of it. There were empty beer cans and empty liquor bottles spread about living room and it also looked like Roy had abandoned cleaning the house at all while he was gone. The beer cans and bottles matched to what Thea had told him. Seeing the state of the house in which he was paying the mortgage for pissed him off even more.

"Uh, wh-what about?' Roy asked in a shaky voice as he closed the door and walked over to Oliver. Oliver turned to face his sidekick, his face set in stone and rage blazing in his eyes. His hard glare made Roy shift and fidget uncomfortably.

"Thea talked to me last night and from what she told me I thought I could give you the courtesy of sleeping in on your hangover"Oliver stated with his voice quite and strained. Roy looked away from Oliver causing him to bark, "Look at me!' Roy jumped and immediately looked at him again with fear in his eyes. "She came to me asking questions about me being the Arrow because of the things you said to her, Roy! I had no choice to tell her about everything" Oliver said his voice rising in volume. Roy winced at his words, he really screwed up last night. "On Top of that", he continued, " you're not a drunk", he spat.

"I'm not a drunk!" Roy spoke up for the first time. He did not have a drinking problem and even if he did he didn't like the way Oliver said that. As though having s drinking problem made him beneath Oliver. Oliver's words resonated through him and they stung.

"You are! I heard about the nights you missed when the team needed you and I heard about you stealing bottles from the bar,"Oliver replied in a loud voice. His blue eyes were flashing and rage was painted on his face. He was disgusted with Roy's behavior just as he had been with Laurel. "Those are things that drunks do"Oliver took a deep breath to calm down before continuing,"you're off the team", he stated calmly. Roy's mouth fell open at that. Oliver couldn't do that.

"You can't do that! This is insane!" Roy cried.

"I can do this and I am. If drinking is more important to you than the city then I won't waste your time. Also, what little money I have left will not be spent on you drinking your life away. I want you out of here", Oliver stated coldly while waving his hand around gesturing to the house. Roy looked at his mentor or former mentor in disbelief. Where was he going to go?

"Where am I supposed go?! You're going to put me out on the streets for this?!" Roy asked angrily.

* * *

Laurel opened her apartment door to see a pitiful looking Roy with bags of luggage. Her green eyes shined with surprise while his brown ones looked at her with deep sadness. "Roy?"

"Oliver kicked me out of the house and off the team" he told her miserably. " I don't have any other place to go",


	4. Chapter 4

Laurel drove to the Verdant with hot white rage flowing through her veins. Roy had told her about his encounter with Oliver and she could hardly believe what he told her. What Oliver did was absolutely despicable. It really reminded her of how he treated her the night of the Lance dinner ( **AN** : He should not have been there). She was astounded by how Oliver could look and talk down to Roy for his addiction when he ran around murdering people to deal with his problems. The things he said to Roy was absolutely awful and she believed that he needed to apologize for it all.

Laurel took a deep breath to calm herself down. She didn't want to storm in there with guns blazing and turn the discussion into a screaming match. She wanted to talk to him calmly and explain to Oliver how awful to Roy and how his actions absolutely devastated the poor guy. When he came to her apartment last night, he had been nearly in tears. There was so much hurt and pain in his eyes that she didn't know what to do with it. She tried to comfort him as best as she could but the situation was pretty awkward. They had only recently gotten to know each other better and they had only been teammates at best. There had also been the problem of his hostility that he had shown towards her recently for calling him out on his addiction.

It was also struck her as odd that he picked to come to her for a place to stay. When she asked him about it, he told her that he couldn't bear to face Felicity and Diggle. Having been kicked off the team for his drinking had been incredibly embarrassing. She could understand his reasoning. There wasn't a day that went by that her addiction didn't make her feel horrible. She just hoped that she could give Roy the help he needed so he wouldn't fall any further. At least he was now at an alcohol free environment, that being her apartment. She also needed to talk to Thea about Roy not working at the club for a while. He needed to avoid alcohol altogether at the moment. She just hoped that she could open his eyes to that.

Laurel pulled up to the club and parked her car in a spot. She waited a moment before going in and confronting Oliver. Laurel closed her eyes and took another deep breath to keep her temper under control. They needed to have a civil conversation like adults about this matter. Though, she feared that during this talk that Oliver Queen was going to piss her off with his stupidity. A part of her knew that this conversation was going to turn into a big showdown and may cause her to say things that she would regret. Heaving a sigh, laurel gathered all of her patience and went into the club to talk to Oliver.

"Oliver" Oliver Queen turned to the entrance of the cave at the sound of his name. He saw Laurel walking down the steps with purpose. When she made to the bottom of the stairs and he met her eye, he could tell that she was not happy with him. They stared at each other for a moment before he spoke.

"What is it, Laurel?' She heaved a sigh before starting again. She could feel the rage under the surface, ready to burst forth.

"I talked to Roy", she said simply. Oliver knew exactly what she meant and could see her anger in her eyes. She was doing her best to keep it under control but he knew she was close to snapping at any moment.

"Laurel, I had to. He's not in any place to be of any help to this team", he explained, causing Laurel to roll her eyes.

"You had to? You had to throw him out on the street and abandon him?" She stated her voice rising in volume. "Oliver, he's so broken over what you did, and you've probably only made his situation worse. He's not going to want to get help Ollie, he's going to want to drink"

"He chose drinking over the city, Laurel. I heard about him abandoning you guys during the night. Speaking of which, what the hell were you thinking going there?! You could've gotten yourself killed", he spat back.

Laurel looked even more pissed at his words and sent him a harsh glare, "He collapsed under the pressure, Ollie. He chose coping over the city and secondly, I was out there busting my ass to save the city. That's what a hero does",

"You're not a hero!" Oliver bellowed. There was a flicker of hurt in Laurel's eyes only to be replaced by anger milliseconds later.

There were some very harsh responses on the tip of her tongue but bit them back. "This isn't about me right now. This is about Roy and you horrific treatment of him yesterday. He needs people there for him, not people throwing him away",

"His alcoholism is not my problem. Just as yours isn't" Oliver said coldly. Laurel stiffen visibly at his words, closed her eyes for a moment to control her ever rising temper. She opened them again and decided it was time to cut the conversation short.

"Give me Roy's suit", she demanded changing the subject.

"What?"

"The Arsenal suit. Give it to me, and the bow too. It belongs to Roy, not you", Laurel responded strongly. Oliver hesitated for a moment before doing as requested. He took the suit from its case and packed it into a small briefcase. He then retrieved the bow from a nearby table and placed it into its brief case with Roy's quiver and arrows. He then walked back over to Laurel and reluctantly handed her both cases. Laurel took the cases from him and forced out a thanks before briskly leaving the Arrow Cave.

Roy sat on Laurel's couch while eating a big bowl of ice cream, using it as a replacement for alcohol. He would rather be drinking but Laurel's apartment was completely dry and she took his wallet to ensure he wouldn't go out and buy alcohol. She had a strict no alcohol policy for her home. He scooped up some ice cream and sighed before eating it. He was still reeling from his fallout with Oliver. Every time he thought about it he wanted to break down and cry. Which he had last night after Laurel had bid him goodnight. Oliver throwing him out like yesterday's trash was unbearably painful. Thinking about it made him even more depressed than before. What was worse was that he most certainly deserved Oliver's treatment and harsh words.

He had let his friends to fight for the city while he drunk himself into a stupor. Not showing up for their nightly activities was wrong no matter how you spun it. He also didn't deserve Laurel's hospitality. Not after leaving her to fend for herself on the battlefield and treating her so horribly for just trying to help him. She was wrong about him having a problem but she meant well. Regardless of his ill treatment she had welcomed him with open arms. He was very grateful for her for taking him in.

She was perhaps the best person that he could come to and talk to. He didn't feel a sense of shame overcome him when he told her about what happened with Oliver. He knew for sure that he wasn't ready to face the others, especially Thea. He still had feelings for her and he wanted to be someone that she could be proud of. Being someone who stole liquor from his job and choose drinking over the city was the exact opposite.

Roy finished his ice cream and got up to put the bowl in the sink. While in the kitchen, he looked at the clock on the stove to see it was a quarter to six. He figured that Laurel should have been off from work now and on her way home. Just as he thought this, she walked through the front door. "Roy?' she called out, stepping further into the apartment.

"In here", he called out. A few seconds later Laurel entered the kitchen carrying two brief cases. He looked at her curiously to see her smiling at him brightly, her green eyes shining. He found her smile to be beautiful and infectious, he couldn't help but give her a small smile in return. "What?" he asked still smiling.

Her smile grew before she answered. "I got your suit and bow from Ollie. He may have gave it to you but it wasn't his to keep," Roy eyes widened in surprise before a huge grin of elation spread across his handsome face.

He walked over to her and took the briefcases from her before heading into the living room with Laurel following behind him. He sat on the couch and placed one briefcase in his lap and other nearby his feet while Laurel sat beside him. He hesitated for a moment and Laurel ushered him to open the case. He sent her a quick smile before opening the case to see his suit neatly folded and staring back at him. He couldn't help but to look at it in awe. He had thought that he wasn't going to see it ever again and now here it was, sitting in his lap. He took it out of the case and held it before him, a huge smile spread over his face.

Laurel watched Roy as he gushed at his suit. She found his reaction to it to be rather boyish and adorable. Almost like a child on Christmas morning. He wore the same smile he had shown when he realized that Oliver was back which made him look even more handsome. He put the suit back into the case and closed it before replacing the case with the one on the floor near his feet. He opened it to see his bow accompanied by his arrows and quiver. Seeing his entire arsenal in place, he turned to Laurel looked at her earnestly. "Thanks for this, Laurel", he said softly. She nodded and smiled at him and held his eye contact for a moment. Neither of them said anything and they fell into a comfortable silence.

Laurel broke it a few moments later. "What do you want to do for dinner? I'm not much of a cook, in fact I absolutely suck at it, so I figured we could go out somewhere?" she asked. Roy thought for a moment before nodding.

"As long as it's not Big Belly Burger", he replied.

"I thought you loved that place", Laurel stated confused.

"I do but the others might be there. I can't face them, Laurel. Especially Thea and Oliver", Roy said looking down at the floor. Laurel's heart went out to him seeing the embarrassment and shame oozing from his demeanor. She hesitated a little before asking her next question.

"Because of your addiction or because you were thrown off the team?" she asked so softly that Roy nearly missed her question. His head snapped up at her and he sent her a hard look

"Because I got thrown off the team. I went a little heavy on the drinking but it's a problem. I would like my wallet back too", Laurel reluctantly went to the hallway leading to the front door where she dropped her purse. As she walked back to the living room, she rummaged through her purse to retrieve Roy's wallet. She pulled it out and handed it to Roy once she returned to him.

Having the wallet in hand, Roy stood and began to head for the door but Laurel blocked his way to stop him. "Where are you going? What about dinner?"

"I'm not all that hungry and it's none of your damn business where I'm going", Roy rudely stated before pushing his way past her and exiting the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Laurel cringed at the sound of the slamming door. She then sat down on the couch and leaned her head on the back of it with a sigh. It was like her father all over again.

She knew that it was futile to try to stop him from going out. It would only lead to a huge and nasty confrontation. She heaved another sigh and was suddenly aware of how tired she was and that she had lost her appetite. From working all day, dealing with Oliver, and recent confrontation with Roy had her wanting to crawl into bed. She got up from the couch and headed to her bedroom to turn in for the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Laurel slowly came to consciousness as her phone loudly chimed. She groaned in aggravation as she rolled over to her right side to look at the clock. It was two in the morning. She heaved a sigh and groggily reached to her bedside table to retrieve her phone. She rummaged around for a moment until she found it. She brought the phone to her ear and answered it without looking at the caller id. "Hello?" she asked, with sleepiness dripping from her voice.

"Is this Dinah Lance?" a deep, gruff voiced asked. Laurel, whose mind was still clouded with sleepiness thought, that the mysterious man was referring to her mother.

"Which one?" she asked dazedly, sleep still clouding her mind.

"What?" the man asked. Before Laurel could reply, there was a struggle on the other side of the phone, with someone drunkenly asking for the phone. When the noise settled, the drunken voice had taken over the line.

"Heeeeyyyy, Lauurrreellll", the person slurred.

"Roy?" Laurel asked as she woke up completely, sitting up in bed. He sounded absolutely hammered.

"Bingo, Mr. Bossy Bartender here says that I've had enough and I should call somebody to pick me up. Who's better than my roomie?" he drunkenly laughed.

Laurel sighed as she got out of her comfortable, warm bed. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

Roy let out another drunken laugh before replying, "I'm right as rain, sweetheart. I'm at uhhhhhh, some bar,"

Laurel grabbed a pair of sweat pants and her Wildcat gym jacket "Put the bartender back on the phone, Roy", Laurel heard him groan before a moment of silence as the phone was passed over. "Where is your bar, sir?" she asked once the bartender had the phone.

"It's downtown, a block south of QC," he answered gruffly. "Hurry up and pick up your boyfriend. It's closing time", he finished, he then hung the phone before Laurel could reply.

"He's not my boyfriend", she muttered as she put the phone on the hook. She then put on her shoes, collected her purse and keys, and then headed out the door to pick Roy up.

When she arrived to the dungy bar, she saw the Roy was sitting at the bar taking a shot. He turned around to her and gave her a huge, drunken smile. She gave him a sheepish smile in return and slowly made her way towards him. "Hey, Roy. It's time to go", she said softly. To her surprise, he didn't get upset but he did look disappointed.

He groaned in disappointment, "okay", he then tried to get up off the stool and nearly lost his balance. Laurel caught him before he fell and let him lean on her. They began to make their way to the exit when Roy stopped, "Wait, I need to pay", he reached into his pocket on the opposite side of Laurel for his wallet. He removed his arm from around Laurel and made his way back to the bar as he took out some bills from his wallet. He threw them on the bar before he lost his balance again. He caught himself on the bar as Laurel rushed over to him to offer him assistance. She quickly bent down to pick up his fallen wallet from the ground and put it in her pants pocket. She then put his arm around her again and they slowly made their way out of the bar. They exited the bar and walked slowly to her car. Roy turned his head towards her, giving her a small smile that she found to be rather cute, "It's de ja vu", he noted with a chuckle. "I love de ja vu",

"It is indeed. More for me than you", she said softly, referring to her father. "Alright, here we are", she said as they reached the car. They went around to the passenger seat, Laurel removed Roy's arm from around her and let him lean on the side of hood as she opened the door. She then tried to get him in the car which proved to be rather difficult due to Roy who had a laughing attack. It got so bad that he had ended up falling onto the ground, drunkenly laughing. "C'mon, Roy", she sighed as she picked him up. He was rather heavy and he didn't offer much assistance. She struggled to get him off the ground and getting him in the car for a few mintues. Once she had him in the car, Laurel put his seatbelt on him. When she reached across him to buckle it, he grabbed her hand, getting her attention. She turned to him and looked at him with curious, wide eyes. "What is it?"

He looked at her with soft eyes "thanks for this, Laurel", she responded by giving him a tight smile and a nod. She buckled him in and made her way around to the driver seat. She got in and began the drive home. They drove in silence with Roy staring intently at her. She could feel his eyes on her and it made her uncomfortable. After a few minutes, he finally spoke, "Laurel, your hair is really confusing. It's two colors",

Laurel couldn't help but chuckle at his confusion. He was absolutely wasted, even more so than he had been the first night she had taken him home. "I dye it", she replied, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Still weird", he mumbled, still staring at her. "But I like it. Reminds me of", he paused for a moment as if lost in thought, "Something. I don't know what that something is but your hair reminds me of something", she smiled and gave him a thanks. He reached over and played with a strand of her hair with his index finger, earning a strange look from her, he grinned brightly in return. Laurel rolled her eyes and turned back to the road.

Not too long after that, they arrived to her apartment complex. After parking, Laurel got out of the car and then helped Roy out of the car and into the apartment building. As they made it up the stairs, they nearly tumbled down them. Luckily, Laurel was able to grab onto the rail and hold on to Roy so that he wouldn't fall. They gingerly made their way up the rest of the stairs where Laurel had to take a bit of a breather due to the struggle on the stairs. After catching her breath, they walked down the hallway to her apartment. She had to put Roy on the wall to get her keys out of her pocket. She opened the door and led him inside. She then took him into his room and put him in bed. When she was putting him into bed, her gave her a hug as she was bent over him. She looked down at him in confusion. He simply smiled at her lopsidedly, then closed his eyes as though he was going to sleep. She stood to her full height and shook her head at him as she left his bedroom. Once she was outside in the main area, she made her way to the couch and collapsed on it.

She was completely exhausted. On top of that, she had to work tomorrow and deal with a hung over Roy. At least he wasn't a grumpy drunk tonight, she thought. Laurel ran her hands down her face tiredly and huffed. This was proving to be more tiring than she thought. While he wasn't in a rage tonight, he was still very far from wanting to receive help. When he sobered up tomorrow she was going to bring it up again and it was going to be ugly.

Laurel heard the bedroom door open as Roy came out and sat beside her. She gave him a curious look at which he just smiled. He then laid down, putting his head on her lap and his feet on the arms rest of the couch. "Roy!" she cried. He simply looked up at her with a slight frown.

"What?" he asked innocently. She sighed and allowed him to lay on her lap. A sudden serious look fell upon his face, at least as serious as it could be in his drunken state. Noticing his change in body language, Laurel looked down at him curiously. Having her attention, he began to speak, "Help me win back Thea",

"What?" she asked taken a back.

"Thea, I want to be with her again," he replied simply. "Help me get her back",

"Roy, no", she said with a shake of her head.

"Why not?" he asked with his voice whining.

"You're in no position to be with her and secondly, she's not some prize to be won", Roy looked disappointed at her words but did not retort. Laurel took her eyes of him, looking absentmindedly ahead, lost in thought. They fell into a comfortable silence with Roy staring at her with soft eyes. After a few minutes, Laurel spoke, "Can you get off me? I would like to go to bed",

"Mmmm, okay. Sorry you had to come pick me up", he stated as he sluggishly sat up.

"Yeah, well you're going to pay for it tomorrow", Laurel replied as she got up and went back to bed. "Night, Roy", she went into her bedroom and collapsed into her bed. She pulled the covers over her and within a minute she was out like a light.

Too soon for her comfort, Laurel's alarm blared loudly, waking her. Still buried under her covers, she reached over and slammed her hand down on the clock, turning the alarm off. She sighed tiredly and got up to get ready for her day. When she exited her bedroom, she came to the sight of Roy passed out on the couch. She made her way to the kitchen to make herself and Roy two omelets. As she cooked, Laurel thought about the confrontation that was going to happen, again. It was getting incredibly repetitive to her but with each confrontation getting worse. She knew that as Roy would continue to fall he would become even more mean and nasty, but she would be there to catch him.

When she finished making Roy's omelet, she placed it into the microwave for him to eat when he woke, she then made a pot of coffee for the both of them. When the coffee was finished she made herself a cup, took her coffee and omelet to the table and dug in. Laurel ate quickly and silently. After she finished eating she placed aspirin and a cup of water on the coffee table in the living room with Roy. She left him a sticky note as well before making her way out of the door to head to work.

At 2 pm, Laurel looked up from her desk to see Roy Harper holding two bags of Big Belly Burger and two drinks. She took him in with surprised eyes. She figured that he would still be passed out or nursing his hang over. He looked rather well considering how hammered he had been last night." I figured I could return the favor", he said softly. She smiled at him and motioned for him to come into her office. He came in and placed the food and drinks on the desk. "Thea told me that you're prone to skipping out on lunch when you work", He sat down from across her and gave her a smile. "Thanks for this morning, Laurel. I found your omelet to be delicious",

"Good cause it's the only thing that I can make", she grabbed one of the Big Belly bags and pulled out a burger and some fries. Roy did the same and they dig in. They eat in a comfortable silence, which allowed Laurel to go over some things in her head. She thought about whether this was a good time to bring up Roy needing help. She felt as though her office may not have been the best place for such a conversation but it needed to be brought up. While lost in her thoughts, Roy spoke up again.

"I'm sorry about last night. Storming off like I did and pulling you out of bed to pick my drunk ass up", he said apologetically.

She smiled at his apology, "It's okay, Roy. I'm pretty used to being up all hours into the night", she noticed how Roy slumped dejectedly at the mention of working with Team Arrow "which reminds me, when are you going to get back out there?'

He looked at her in surprise, "what?" he felt like that part of his life was over.

"Getting back out there on the streets. You may not have Ollie with you anymore but you and I made a pretty good team", she said with a smile.

"Yeah, we do", he said thoughtfully. "I could teach you what I know, with Ted Grant being hurt and all. I know that I'm pretty green myself but I can teach you something",

She nodded in agreement, "Though, I think we could wait on you getting back out there", she said softly, a serious look in her eye. Roy looked at her in confusion.

'Why?"

"We need to wait until you're sober" she said softly, the look on her face told him she was expecting him to blow. He felt anger run through him at her words but told himself not to explode.

"I don't need help, Laurel", he said forcibly, then a thought hit him. "Was that why you were saying I wasn't in a position to be with Thea?" he voice held a dangerous tone to it.

Laurel shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She had a feeling this was going to get ugly. She swallowed before answering, "Yes, where you are now is not good. You will only hurt her and I don't think that she will want be with you right now,"

"I won't hurt her," he argued.

"Yes you will, Roy. That's what an alcoholic does, they hurt those closest to them. My dad did it and I did it too,"

Roy rolled his eyes with a huff and stormed out of her office, "I think you should get back to work", he spat before slamming the door behind him.

Roy stormed out of the D.A, building with anger, hurt, and sadness coursing through him. Laurel's words had resonated strongly through him. He would never hurt Thea, he cared about her too much to do that. He wasn't her or her father. He could stop the drinking whenever he wanted to, he just preferred being drunk than sober. His life absolutely sucked and it didn't seem like it was going to get better any time soon. He lost Thea, the team, and his home. With him being kicked off the team, he felt loss and didn't feel like he belonged anywhere. Being a part of Team Arrow made him feeling like he had a home and family. He hadn't felt that way since his parents died.

Roy sighed sadly at his depressing thoughts as he walked down the street. His mood had been incredibly soured and he felt in the mood for a drink, a drink could always took his mind off his troubles. He made his way to a little bar some blocks from Laurel's office. He went inside and looked around. It was small, dirty, and rather dark. He walked to the bar and plumped down into a bar stool and ordered some whiskey.

Thea walked quickly to the door after hearing loud, constant knocks. The visitor did not let up and continued to knock. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find Roy on the other side. He did not look well, he seemed off balance and his eyes were unfocused, "Roy, are you okay?" he looked at her in the eye and gave her a rather strange, lopsided grin.

He put his hand on the doorframe and leaned into her, "why, I'm fine Speedy. How 'bout you?' he then chortled drunkenly.

"You're drunk" she stated deadpanned. She then sighed in exasperation, he came to her in a drunken stupor in the worst times.

"Bingo!" he pointed at her with his hand in the form of a gun.

"This isn't a good time. Let me call Laurel-"

"It's always a good time for love and who cares about her?' Roy said loudly as he forced his way past Thea to get into the apartment. He then turned to her after she closed the door behind him and look at him with weary eyes. "I'm here to hang out with the love of my life" he said with a wide sweep of his hand.

Then, a guy that was unfamiliar to Roy walked their way. The guy stopped short at the sight of Roy and gave Thea a curious look. Roy gave the stranger an intense glare. "Who's your friend, Thea?' the guy asked.

"I'm her boyfriend. Who the hell are you?!" Roy made his way towards the stranger with fast, powerful steps. Thea rushed and put herself in front of Roy, stopping him by putting a hand on his chest.

"He's not my boyfriend. This is my idiotic, drunken ex", she said with agitation, keeping her eyes on Roy. "And he was just leaving",

Roy shook his head at her words and attempted to pass her but Thea would not allow it. He became aggravated and forced his way pass her, knocking her to the ground. She hit the ground hard and looked up at him in shock, while Roy stared down at her in surprised horror. He made a move to help her up, "Thea, I'm so sorry" as he leaned down the guy pushed Roy out of the way.

"I think you need to leave", he said forcibly. Roy who was filled with rage at the push, at himself for pushing Thea, at this guy for being here, and at everything in life charged the guy, taking him down to the ground. He began to land punch after punch onto his face. Roy was so enraged that he didn't hear Thea calling his name. He did however feel a pull on his arm and pushed whoever it was off but this person was strong and hauled him off the guy and pressed him into the nearby wall. He looked in the enraged eyes of Oliver Queen.

Oliver held him against the wall by pressing his forearm into Roy's throat. His face crunched up slightly as he smelled the alcohol on Roy's breath. "I don't want you coming anywhere near Thea again. You will not be working at the club anymore, now get out of here before I hurt you", Oliver said his voice dangerously low. He then grabbed Roy by the collar and pushed him towards the door. Roy ran out of the loft and then out of the building quickly, trying to put as much space as he possibly could between himself and the mess he created.

Once he was outside, he continued to run, sprinting down the street. His intoxication caused him to trip over his own feet and crash into the ground. It took him a moment to get to his hands and knees where he moved to sit on the curb. He put his face in his hands and began to cry softly. What had happened back there was absolutely awful. He had hurt Thea, proving Laurel to be right. He was hurting those close to him. This had to be the lowest point in his life and he felt worthless.

Roy felt as though he had nothing to live for. He had destroyed whatever chance he had of being with Thea. In fact, he had destroyed any chance of having any type of relationship with her. The man he looked up to as a brother/father didn't want anything to do with him. He was certain that Diggle and Felicity didn't want anything to do with him either. He had burned the only family he had ever known to the ground. Roy began to cry even harder as the true weight of everything fell upon him. He had hit rock bottom and there was no way out of it. Roy sat there for minutes on end and cried till he had no more tears to cry.

He even sat on that curb as it began to rain. It started off in a drizzle but quickly transformed into a major downpour, but still Roy sat. He became soaked to the bone but yet he didn't move. The one thing that snapped him out of his trance was his ringing cell phone. He mindlessly reached into his pocket, took it out and answered it. "Roy?" Laurel's worried voice came through for the other line. Laurel. He hadn't thought of her, she had took him in when he was kicked to the curb.

"Laurel, I screwed up horribly", his voice was filled with pain and it was noticeable to Laurel that he had been crying. "You were right", he roughly ran a hand through his wet, matted hair.

"Where are you? Are you outside? I can hear the rain", Roy confirmed her hunch and told her where he was. She told him to sit tight and that she would be there as soon as she possibly could. Thea had told Laurel what had happened when she got off from work. Laurel became rather worried when she came home to an empty apartment. She immediately called him after seeing that he wasn't home. She was now driving to where Roy said he was.

This was the low that she feared Roy would hit. She wanted to be able to get him the help he needed before this. She was also surprised by how quickly this fall had happened for Roy. He fell much quicker than she did, mainly due to Oliver throwing him out so easily. Laurel drove as fast as she could in the rain, desperately wanting to get to Roy. She arrived to the curb where Roy was sitting within a few minutes. She came to the scene of him sitting in the downpour with his head held in his hands. His shoulders seemed to be shaking as though he was crying. She pulled up aside him and stepped out of the car, immediately getting soaked. She made her way to him and bent down in front of him, trying to meet his eye. "Roy, are you okay?"

He looked up at her with sad, devastating eyes. His face was filled with the pain he was feeling inside. He finally answered by slowly shaking his head, "I'm not okay, I'm far from it", his voice cracked as he talked. Laurel looked at him with sympathetic eyes as she took in his form. He looked so broken and distraught, as though his whole world had fallen apart, which it did. His eyes looked unfocused and far away. As though he wasn't with her mentally.

Laurel grabbed him by the face to get him to focus on her, "Roy, let's get you home and dry, okay? Then we'll talk about everything, and I promise you that I will help you fix this." She told him earnestly, her eyes gleaming with determination. He nodded slowly at her words then, Laurel helped him up to his feet and they got into her car and drove home.

They drive was silent and filled with desolation. Roy laid his head on the window and stared blankly ahead. As she drove, Laurel occasionally threw a worried glance his way. He seemed to have sobered up but he looked empty. Almost as a shell of the man he was before everything fell apart. By the time they had arrived to their destination, the rain had stopped completely. Once they were parked both parties slowly exited the car and made their way to the apartment at a snail place. As they walked, Laurel continued to look at Roy with worried eyes, not sure if he was going to climb out of this hole or climb into a bottle.

When they made it to the door of her apartment, Laurel unlocked it letting them both inside, letting Roy go in first. Instead of heading to take a shower, he went to the dining table and sat down, putting his head in his arms on the table. Laurel made her way to her bedroom, sparing him a worried glance as she went to clean herself up. Once she was dried and in a new set of clothes, Laurel came out of her bedroom to see that Roy hadn't moved an inch. She went and grabbed a towel from her bedroom and then made her way to him. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, getting his attention, he looked up at her with empty eyes, looking like a lost puppy. Once his face was turned up towards to her, Laurel took the towel and began to dry his face and hair. As she did she began to speak, "You can come back from this but there's only one way to do that", she said softly. He nodded in agreement. "You can come with me to the AA meetings and I will be there with you every step of the way",

He looked down, he face looking pensive. Then, he looked up to her, a light in his eye. "Okay, but one condition. I want you to be my sponsor",

* * *

So, there's the chapter. I had Roy hit rock bottom by hurting his relationship with Thea because he still had hope for that. I had to destroy that hope by his actions and by her moving on. I was going to do it by him hitting her but I felt like that was too far. In this chapter I also slowly having him see that Laurel is there for him. Hence him asking her to be his sponsor. Diggle and Felicity do not agree with Oliver and that will be shown in the next chapter. Please leave a review telling me what you think and how I can improve.


	6. Chapter 6

Laurel's eyebrows raised in surprise. She hadn't been expecting him to give in easily nor had she been expecting his request. While flattered, it was something that she could not accept. She put the towel aside and pulled out a chair from the table to sit right in front of him. "Roy," she began, "I am flattered that you want this of me but I can't," she said with a shake with a shake of her head.

Roy frowned slightly at her words, "Why not?"

"I haven't been sober long enough. AA will set you up with a sponsor who is best suited for you," she replied.

Roy looked down at hands as he thought it over. Though he didn't know much about getting clean or a sponsor, he felt like she was best suited for him regardless of how long she had been sober.  _She_ was the one who took him in when Oliver abandoned him. But he was going to do this her way. He was in unknown territory and she was the expert in this. He looked back at her and met her soft gaze, "Alright. I will take whoever they offer to me," he said softly. Roy was taken off guard by Laurel's reaction to his decision. For the first time since he met her, he saw a full-fledged grin split across her face and her eyes shine with happiness.

She reached over to him and enveloped him into a tight hug, taking him by surprise. He slowly returned it, enjoying the feel of her in his arms, "I'm proud of you, Roy", she told him softly in his ear. He smiled softly at that and hugged her tighter. After a moment, she pulled back and stared directly into her eyes, "this is the beginning of a very long and hard road. But this is a big step and I believe in you", she said genuinely. Her face had a look of strong determination, one the Roy was beginning to feel.

He inhaled and exhaled, "how do I start?'

* * *

About half an hour later, both Laurel and Roy sat in an Alcohol Anonymous meeting. They had listened to the stories of others, then it was Laurel's turn. She discussed the painful loss of her sister and the constant rage she felt with her death. She was rather discreet about the subject, avoiding being explicit to not give too much information. After her, it was Roy's turn who was sitting right next to her right.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, still uneasy about talking sharing his feelings. He felt stage fright hit him and felt like leaving. Sensing his discomfort, Laurel reached over and grabbed his hand, and gave it a supportive squeeze. Feeling the sensation, Roy looked down at their hands. He then looked up at her, seeing him smiling softly at him in encouragement. Roy turned forward again, swallowing thickly. He took a very deep breath and exhaled slowly. He opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldn't come out. He felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest, he began to sweat, and his breathing became labored. He couldn't do this. What a horrible idea.

He was about to get up to leave when he felt a tug on his hand. He turned back to Laurel who looked at him with softness. "You can do this, Roy", she told him softly. Roy gave her a single nod and turned forward again. He heaved and a sigh and tried again.

"My name is Roy and I'm", he paused, closed his eyes trying to will himself to say it out loud, "an alcoholic", he finished in a whisper. He pulled his hand from Laurel's and placed both of his hands in his lap, intertwining them, and fidgeting with them as he continued, "my drinking began because I keep losing people. I lost my parents long ago, the girl I love broke up with me, and then I lost my mentor," his voice became shaky as he continued, "on top of that, I had these responsibilities. They were a huge burden but I loved them", he smiled bitterly at the thought of being Arsenal, "they became too much when I lost my mentor, someone who I looked up to as a big brother or father. Both to how big they became and the pain of losing him. To deal with everything, I began drinking. It started off small and then it just got bigger and bigger. In the end, it cost me everything, basically", his face had a faraway look on it as he relived the awful event at Thea's loft. He wasn't ready to talk about that, yet. At least with he didn't want to talk about it with these other people, he thought as he shot a quick glance to Laurel.

Roy looked down, thinking his next words over, "I'm here because I just kept falling and falling. My life was getting darker and darker and God knows where I would have ended if I didn't come here tonight", he finished. He closed his eyes and let out a breath slowly. He felt some of the weight that had been on his shoulders be lifted. He felt better talking things out and truly acknowledging everything that was bothering him. Except for one thing. Something he pushed to the back of his mind. He was not going there.

"Thank you for sharing, Roy" the manager of the meeting said. Roy shot him a strained smile and then looked down at his hands as he listened to the others' stories.

Laurel leaned over to him, "that was great", she whispered softly in his ear. Roy shivered as he felt her breath brush against his ear. He turned his head to look at her, seeing her shining brightly at him, her mouth fixed into a soft smile. He felt a sense of calm when staring at her in that moment and couldn't help but to return her smile. They stared at deeply into each other's eyes for a long moment, it lasted until Roy's gaze dropped to Laurel's lips, it was only for a split second but she noticed. She reacted by immediately turning her attention to the front of the room to listen to the others. Roy reluctantly took his eyes off her to follow her example. They didn't interact for the rest of the meeting, only with Roy sending her side glances that she refused to meet. Laurel's demeanor had been relaxed but she stiffened remarkably after their shared gaze.

After the meeting and on the drive home, was when they finally spoke to each other again. Laurel sat in the driver seat behind the wheel while Roy sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window going over everything in his head. Pulling himself from his thoughts, he sighed and turned to Laurel, who was busy keeping her eyes on the road. He let his eyes roam over every inch of her he could see and heaved another, deeper sigh. She was breathtaking.

"Who's your sponsor?" she asked suddenly, taking him out of his thoughts.

He brought his eyes up from where they were and looked at her with wide eyes, "what?"

"Who did they give you as a sponsor?" she reiterated.

"Oh, it's Karen", he said simply.

"She seems very sweet. Remember Roy, whenever you feel like you're about to cave in, give her a call. She'll help you through your problems", Laurel said, not taking her eyes off the road.

Roy shook his head at her words, "there are certain things that I can't tell her, just as there are certain things that you can't tell your sponsor. Even things we can't say at the meetings",

Laurel shot him a curious glance before quickly redirecting her eyes to the road, "what do you mean?"

"You avoid truly voicing what's eating at you which means that you just bury it. I have to do the same as well. There's something that I can't tell the group or Karen. But I can tell you",

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"I'll tell you when we get back. You're gonna need to be seated for this one", he said softy. The rest of the drive was in silence.

When they had finally arrived to her apartment and were placed on her couch, they began to talk. Laurel looked at him with soft eyes, waiting for him to speak. Roy took a deep breath before speaking, "you know that I didn't kill Sara. When I thought I did was because a memory from when I was shot up with mirukuru", he stopped then, having trouble saying his unforgivable sin out loud. Laurel didn't speak when he paused, giving him the time and patience he needed to voice his demons. "I killed a cop", he forced out. Laurel looked at him with wide eyes as he swallowed thickly, "whenever I close my eyes at night, that's what I see, and it eats away at me in ways that are unbearable", he said his voice wavering. He looked down then, feeling a sense of self-hatred flood through him.

"Hey," Laurel said softly, as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her at the sensation of her touch, "that wasn't you, Roy. That was a drug that influenced you. That is on Slade's hands, not yours," she told him softly.

He smiled bitterly at her words, "I know that in my mind, but my heart says differently",

"Why is that? There is nothing that you could have done to stop that incident",

"Because it was still me and there's nothing that can change that", he said sadly with a shake of his head. Laurel could see the sadness, shame, and guilt in his face. He should not have felt that way about the situation. The cop's death was not on his hands and he needed to see and understand that.

"That wasn't you at all, Roy. His death is on Slade, and not you in any shape or form. You need to see that and understand or this will be with you forever. You don't deserve that, Roy," she said strongly, her eyes boring into his.

Roy didn't know how to react to her words but he took them to heart and simply stared back at her. They stared at each other for a long moment, lost in each other's eyes. Once again, his gaze dropped to her lips and Laurel reacted by licking them.

She broke the spell by looking away, "it's getting late," she said as she stood and began to head to her bedroom, "goodnight, Roy",

* * *

A few weeks later, Laurel sat with Felicity in a coffee shop having breakfast on their day off, "so, how's Roy?" the blonde woman asked.

Laurel took a sip of her coffee, "he's doing better day by day. He hasn't come near relapse since he went to talk to Oliver", she said, referring to Roy taking one of his steps. He had went to everyone he felt like he betrayed to make amends, that included Oliver. He wasn't exactly welcoming to Roy (AN: it took YEARS for them to amend the relationship after Oliver kicked him to the curb).

Felicity sighed and shook her head, "I don't understand why Oliver is being this way. My heart broke for Roy when he didn't let him back on the team. His actions are even more ridiculous considering the threat looming over our heads",

Laurel shoved some eggs into her mouth as she thought over her next words, "he came so close to drinking that night," she said softly, she then smiled, "but Diggle let Oliver have it. I liked that",

Felicity chuckled softly in her coffee cup, "he's still wearing that black eye",

Laurel's smiled widened at the memory of Diggle punching Oliver, he absolutely deserved it. "How is everything with the team? Have you found anything on Sara's murder?"

Felicity shifted then and turned her eyes away from Laurel's, "nothing, really", she answered uneasily.

Laurel tilted her head slightly as she examined Felicity's demeanor, "is there anything that you aren't telling me?"

Felicity continued to fidget under her scrutiny and stared a hole into her plate as she answered, "I'm not hiding anything. We don't have any answers",

Laurel's gaze hardened. Felicity was lying and doing a horrible job of it. "Felicity, I am an ADA, meaning that I work with all types of criminals and they lie to me a lot, you understand?" she said strongly.

Felicity continued to look down, "Laurel, I can't tell you", she said softly.

"Why not?'

"Because, if you found out, I know that you will act on that information", Felicity answered, finally meeting her eye.

Laurel's jaw clenched as she stared at her friend, "you know who killed her", she said lowly. Felicity didn't answer but the look on her face was all Laurel needed, "how long have you known?"

"Laurel-"

"How long have you known?" she asked strongly

"Little before Oliver went off to fight Ra's", Felicity answered softly. Laurel looked at her aghast, not believing that she had kept the secret from for so long.

"How could you not tell me?" Laurel asked angrily.

"Oliver-"

"Oliver?! You listened to him? The man who threw Roy out on the street like trash?!" Laurel continued to raise her voice, drawing the attention of those around them, Felicity whispered at her to lower her voice.

"Laurel we didn't tell you because it's complicated and Oliver felt that it was best to not tell you, I'm sorry", Felicity said with tear-filled eyes.

Laurel stared back at her with disbelief, "who is it?" she asked quietly.

* * *

Roy, who sat at the dining table, turned his attention to the direction of the door as he heard it unlock and open. As she came around the corner, Roy gave Laurel a smile in greeting and it quickly vanished when he noticed the look on her face. His expression morphed into one of concern and worry as she approached him, "are you okay, Laurel?"

She sat with him at the table, placed her elbows on the table, and buried her face in her hands. She heaved a big, shuddering sigh and dragged her hands down her face. She looked at him with red eyes, "did you know?" she asked, her voice eerily quiet.

Roy looked at her in confusion, "know what?" she seemed as though she was struggling with herself, her eyes becoming wetter and her jaw clenching and unclenching. Roy reached over and grabbed her hand comfortingly, looking at her with concern, "what is it, Laurel?"

"Malcolm Merlyn drugged Thea, causing her to kill my sister", Laurel examined Roy closely and took in his demeanor. He withdrew his hand from hers and looked away from her, "you son of a bitch", she growled.

Roy winced at her words then brought his gaze back to her, seeing the blazing anger, hurt, and betrayal in them, "I wanted to tell you but it was complicated", he said softly.

Laurel scoffed and chuckled bitterly, "what did you think I would do? Go after Thea?"

Roy didn't answer her and dropped his gaze again. Laurel huffed at him and stormed to her room, "stay away from me" said bitterly before slamming the bedroom door behind her. Roy winced at the sound. He got up and slowly made his way to her bedroom door. When he got there, he knocked softly but received no answer, "Laurel, I'm sorry", he said softly. Still, she didn't respond, "can we talk, please?"

"Leave me alone, Roy", she replied coldly. "I can't be near you right now",

He sighed dejectedly and walked away from her door and out of the apartment.

* * *

Please leave a review telling me what you think and what I can do to improve.


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